Versus
by The CONFOOZHiNG Nessia
Summary: It's another year at East High, and one new student in particular catches Gabriella's eye. Only drama could come from this, and perhaps it's the start of something new for Nathan and Gabriella. Told from Troy's point of view. Trailer and Introduction up.
1. Trailer

**Author's Note:** This is sorta like a little trailer, just to make you see if you would like the story or not. :D Review your opinion and I'll decide whether or not I should actually write this story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own High School Musical, but I do own this fanfiction.

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"TROY. Just chill."

I shuddered at how much Nathan's voice sounded like mine. But then again, he had stolen everything else in my life. Go figure--why _wouldn't_ he take my voice?

I couldn't believe it when I heard Gabriella, backing Nathan up, after seeing that I definitely _did not_ want to _chill_. "Nathan's right," she laughed. But she didn't look at me when she laughed, even though she _was_ talking to me. She looked at Nathan. And then what made me really sick was that Gabriella added a little... sidenote: "Troy, it doesn't really matter if I hang out with Nathan, right? I mean... he's... Nathan," and, with that last word, she sounded like she was melting into a dream.

I felt my head start spinning once Nathan began touching her hair, actually _touching_ her hair. I still don't know if it was envy or rage, because at that time I had wanted to knock that guy out and take his place... even more so because at that moment, Gabriella put her hands on that guy's shoulders, stood on her toes, and kissed him. Not just his cheek, like how friends do--like how she had kissed me, but instead she kissed his _mouth_. I'd never had the honor to get to kiss Gabriella's mouth. Not even a little peck. But Gabriella wasn't just pecking his mouth. She was seriously... _kissing_ him.

And Nathan... well, he was seriously _kissing_ her, too.

Right in front of me.

The only thing I could do to not give into the weakness in my knees and collapse was to bite my lip. Hard. I watched them walk away, listening to the hum of their conversation--as well as the little kisses between sentences... and helplessly waiting for Nathan to take his hand out of the back pocket of her jeans.

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**Author's Note:** Wow. I sense drama. Review, or else I'll think no one likes it and I won't continue... :K


	2. Introduction

**Author's Note:** Okay, I got a good number of reviews, and a boost from Smurfy, so I've decided that this story is worth continuing... :D The first chapter is not an actual chapter of the story, it's just a snippet of a future chapter that I thought would best demonstrate the drama without giving away to much... like a trailer-thing, or like the first page of a book where it gives a little excerpt (mm, sp?) to interest you. xD Anyway, enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own High School Musical, but I do own this fanfiction.

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I guess I should start at the beginning, when Nathan first entered my life.

Nathan Brooks was just a kid from Buffalo, New York, who moved to Albuquerque and never gave a real reason _why_. That kid could do everything--pretty much everything I could do and beyond. He could play basketball and sink in every shot (Chad actually tested him to see if he could shoot twenty three-pointers in a row--and he got thirty before deciding to quit). _And_ he can sing--well. My ex-fanclub will actually press their ears up to the door where he practices with Kelsi and sigh, "Kelsi Neilson is sooo lucky to be in a room alone with... _Nathan_."

I hate him.

I flat-out _hate_ Nathan Brooks.

Seriously, what does that kid have that I don't? To you this remark might sound like a line from a self-centered Troy, but if you'll hear things from my side of the story, I bet you'll be a little more open-minded--that is, presuming that you're not one like the others, crushing over Nathan.

So I'll start on the first day of school.

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Nathan was the new kid, but not like how Gabriella was; he started out the senior year actually attending on September 9th. It was just his first year, so he didn't know anybody, but I could _swear_ that the first person he tried to talk to was--you guessed it--Gabriella Montez, my best gal-friend at the time.

Mmhmm, you read right--gal-friend. Simply a friend who happens to be a girl, and a girl who was very close to me at that.

Anyway, every high school worth going to has a social at the beginning of every school year. You know, to start off the year on the right foot. There you can meet up with the good ol' friends you had last year (like I do), or make new friends since there are always new students, every year (like Nathan).

I hope I'm not boring you out with things you probably already know, or after one or two sentences already got the picture. I'll move on and quit talking about useless crap.

The first words I ever heard out of Nathan were directed to Gabriella. Word for word, I remember her first conversation with him, which was a few periods into the day. Nathan had _accidentally_ (psh, who'll believe that?) bumped into Gabriella, sending her to the floor, and their books everywhere. Her social studies textbook literally bounced on the hallway floor and slid a few feet away. I picked it up, and since Gabriella didn't seem to notice me--too entranced in stupid Nathan's _bright blue eyes_ (sound familiar?)--I tucked it under my arm, then leaned back against the wall and strained my ears to listen to them talk, watching them by focusing my vision out of the corner of my eye. Before you jump to any conclusions, you should know that I just wanted to keep an eye out for Gabriella--you can never know what'll happen when a new kid like Nathan shows up.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Nathan muttered dumbly, kneeling to collect his books. "Didn't mean to..."

Since his voice trailed off into silence (if you could call it silence even with all the commotion in the hallway), Gabriella took the chance to slip a few words in. Her dark hair fell in waves across her face as she raised her eyes to look at him. "It's fine." The words were forced through gritted teeth as she frustratedly brought her books to her chest. Obviously she didn't notice that one book was missing--that social studies book I was still holding as I, well, eavesdropped... sorta. Not really.

"Really, I'm sorry." Like some sappy romance novel, Nathan glanced up and caught her gaze. And as if belonging to the same corny scene, Gabriella kept eye contact and the faint traces if a smile were weaved onto her pleasant face, those soft, pink lips slightly curled upward at the edges. Nathan continued, introducing himself, "Hello. I'm Nathan, and I'm new here."

A little detail that I oughta throw in: Sharpay Evans, that peppy pink princess chick, was already peeking at the new kids at East High, keeping a careful eye on _Nathan Brooks_. Seemed like the mountain lion had claimed her prey for the first few weeks of school. At that time I still suspected that Nathan would be a geek-o and Sharpay would still hang all over my arms... no comments, please.

Anyhow, back to the main story. "Hi, Nathan," Gabriella returned, the sweet smile more evident now. She straightened to her feet, extending an arm. "I'm Gabriella. Nice to meet you."

Nathan took her hand in his, and strangely, their fingers seemed to intertwine in a natural way, like their hands were meant to fit into one anothers... ew. Shudder, much? So Nathan took her hand and she helped him up, then they shook in a firm handshake for a brief moment, keeping their gaze fixed in each other's eyes for the few seconds of the once-in-a-lifetime chance of meeting a new student and shaking hands. (Sarcasm. You'll hear a lot of that from me... as well as a lot of three-period pauses and beside-the-point notes in parentheses.)

After Nathan's hand let go, Gabriella's hand dropped and hung limply from her shoulder. She laughed lightly in that infectious way that makes you want to at least smile. The sight and sound of that bubbly giggle did just that, and I beamed down at her from my little lonely space, even though no one could see that I did. "So," Nathan said, grinning back at Gabriella, "what's your next class?"

"Uh..." Gabriella looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Social Studies."

A spark seemed to light in the clear, empty skies which were Nathan's eyes. "Well, then," he tried nervously, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his cargo jeans, "since we both have the same class up next, maybe I could carry your books." He looked down with a sheepish gesture.

"Oh, sure," Gabriella answered, smiling up at him with twinkling eyes, "if that wouldn't be too much trouble for you, I'd really appreciate it." She piled her flimsy, floral-patterned notebooks and her big, long, thick biography novel-thing that she was assigned to read over the summer by her social studies teacher (but not her textbook, and scroll up if you don't remember where it was at that moment) on top of his stack of books, which wouldn't be a heavy load at all if she had asked me--although, of course, I didn't share that advanced social studies class for geniuses with Gabriella. (I only took Social Studies for Dummies... kidding.) Still, I could've carried her books if she'd asked me.

I realized that now would be the time to return that book to Gabriella, so I jumped at the chance. "If now is time for social studies," I remarked to the both of them, "then I'm pretty sure you'll be needing this."

Nathan shot me a piercing glance which screamed "no _duh_, idiot," and lunged for the textbook. I let him take it, and he placed it at the bottom of the heap of books in his arms. This part he said out loud, however:

"Thank you."

And he and Gabriella went in the opposite direction to class. With two words uttered from the mouth of Nathan Brooks, I was nonexistent only seconds after making my first appearance.

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**Author's Note:** So, I wrote this in a little more than half an hour, being constantly distracted by my brother playing the Nintendo GameCube, but perhaps it influenced my writing for this chapter. :) You tell me... in your reviews, eh? xD I love you readers!


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